"Earlier this year I approached Town Hall to bring a series of
artists’ talks which began in September will conclude with the last
installment on December 10, 2013. This is an exhibit of those twelve
brilliant artists included in this program. As creator and curator of Inside Art,
my intent is to break down barriers between artists of different
backgrounds, cultures and approaches to visual art and also between the
artists as a group and audiences that may or may not frequent usual
visual art venues or have academic artistic knowledge or education. I
seek diversity not only in ethnicity, age and gender but also in
mediums, materials, philosophical views and artistic vision. I would
like to demystify art as a profession to encourage engagement and
further mutual understanding between the artist and the public." - Juan Alonso

Lastly but certainly not least I will be in a panel discussion called: Inside Art -Local Artists on How We Are Remembered. This is a Town Hall’s Arts & Culture series dedicated to exploring and celebrating visual arts in Seattle. The panel that I'm a part of is the last installment of the series and focuses on an in-depth look at our legacy through art. Thank you to Juan Alonso, Jess Van Nostrand, The Project Room, Town Hall and everyone who came together to make this happen.

The 3 panelists include, Alfredo Arrequin, Ronald Hall and myself, moderated by Jess Van Nostrand. Tickets are $5, doors open at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

WOW! Way to end it guys! The donations really picked up during the last few hours and we broke $7000.00 in donations to the Red Cross! Thank you EVERYONE for your support and generosity. This is
a tremendous amount you guys have contributed to the Philippines, every dollar counts. :)

The total donated amount is: $7170.00.

The winner is # 495! Sorry for the horrible phone pic, I was having issues with my screen captures not saving. Thank you again to everyone who participated either through donating or simply by passing on the word. Your efforts made this possible.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Matthew Kangas did a review of the "A-Z: Northwest Natives" show I had at G.Gibson Gallery. This is the first time my work has been reviewed in a major art publication. I can't tell you how excited I am about this! A BIG THANKS to Matthew & Art in America. Big thanks as well to Gail, Dori, KC & Claudia at G.Gibson Gallery, you guys are a great crew.

Some of the work from this review can still be seen at G.Gibson Gallery. Please stop by if you're in Seattle

AND... Last but not least, a quick update on the raffle for the Philippines. We've raised $4780.00 so far with 4 days to go. Please feel free to forward/share and pass on the word! Thank you everyone for your support, keep up the good work! You can follow the raffle progress HERE.

Monday, November 11, 2013

This is another "where do I start" moment... a devastating typhoon has hit Philippines and SE Asia. The Philippines took the brunt force of this disaster and they are calling for help.

I have a special connection to the Philippines. My family lived in a refugee camp in Bataan during the late 1980's, this was on the coast near Manila. After the Vietnam/American War ended in 1975 two refugee camps were developed in the Philippines to take on the influx of refugees from war torn countries. Almost a million refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were processed through the Bataan and Palawan camps from the late 70's to the mid 90's. Although the rest of the world might have seen these camps as processing or holding facilities, they were our home. I was only a small child when we lived in the camps, but that experience has shaped who I am today. It was an amazing and, dare I say it, magical place. The people were warm and embracing. It is often people who have the least to give that gives the most. This is very true of the Philippines. It is not a country of wealth, but they welcomed refugees with open arms and great hospitality. Let's give back to the people of the Philippines in their time of need.

Each Entry is $10, but you can donate as much as you want, i.e. $20 is 2 entries, $30 is three entries.

Prize: One lucky winner will receive a carved pencil of their choice. I will pay for shipping, including worldwide shipping.

Donation/Entry Process: OK, last time I got in trouble with Paypal for fundraising on behalf of a charity. I totally understand and respect their rules. This time all donations will do directly to the Red Cross. All you have to do is donate to the RED CROSS Typhoon Appeal, every $10 you give is an entry for this contest. You MUST forward your confirmation email from the Red Cross to meand please include your name and preferred contact info. I will reply with your entry # and contact you if you win!

**EDIT** A few people have contacted me from other countries and said the US Red Cross will only take donations from within the US. If you are not in the US feel free to donate through your local Red Cross and forward me the receipt. It's all good, where ever it comes from! :)

I will take "donations" until midnight PST on November 18th. The winner will be picked via Random.org and I will post the results of the drawing on November 19th.

* A few years I go I did something similar for the Japan Tsunami relief. You guys go back and see what the raffle process was like. THANK YOU EVERYONE! The raffle has ended and we've raised $7170.00 for the Red Cross! The winner of the raffle is #495: Rob L.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Guy
199?-2013
How do I even begin to write this... we've had the pleasure of Guy's company for 10 long years and he's made an immeasurable impression on our lives. We were told he was 6 or 7 when we adopted him in 2003. There's so much to say and yet I'm at a loss for words. Whenever he was around I always felt comfort, joy and love.

Today I'm sad to lose my best friend, but there's also an odd sense of serenity. I know his suffering is over. He left me with his joyful spirit and many happy memories. A big "Thank You" to all my friends and Flickr friends for loving him as much. Having been able to share his wonderful moments with you has made this experience immeasurable. From the bottom of our hearts, "Thank you."

We left Guy with a bouquet of flowers from the yard and a lock of hair from each of us. He will be cremated and I plan on making a "Guy" urn.

Knowing When:
We started to notice Guy's health and agility slowing down about 2 or 3 years ago, but the last 6-8 months is when it really started to spiral. We knew from then on we might have to euthanize him at some point. Slipping away quietly in the night was unlikely and we didn't want to prolong his suffering. It wasn't a matter of what to do, but when to do it... I think this is/was the toughest decision we had to make.

There are many resources out there to help you gauge a pet's "quality of life". Lap of Love has a great PDF/worksheet and I also found THIS checklist very helpful. I thought the worksheet was helpful but too simple so I also took daily logs for about 2-3 weeks. These were a few things I tried to observe:
Did he have a good night sleep?
Did he throw up or have diarrhea?
Had he moaned or seemed like he was in pain and if so the duration.
When and how much he ate.
When and for how long he slept.

By the end good days were when he was able to sleep and eat. It has been at least 3 months since I saw any signs of enjoyment like rolling around or rubbing his face on the furniture. I also like to take a lot of pictures of Guy, a hobby of mine. I went through my library of photos and noticed that I hadn't seen a picture of him smiling in months. Most were pictures of him sleepy or looking droopy. I think in the last 2 weeks he had 5 or 6 "good days" and about 4 or 5 "bad days", with a few "meh" days. We made the choice on Sunday to let him go today.

"Don't You Forget About Me" taken 9/3/12
We spent the entire day hanging out and I made him is favorite meal: fried steak. He ate well and ate willingly. He slept for most of the day with a calmness that I haven't seen in weeks. There was no moaning or his usual signs of discomfort. The sun was out and the sky was blue. We'll always look back on how nice today was.

For those considering euthanasia, I would recommend a "home vet". My good friend Kamala told me about this and it was the best advice I've gotten. Guy went comfortably at home, on the couch in his usual spot. He was not anxious or nervous, we held his paw until the very last moment.

If you're in the Seattle/nearby area we HIGHLY RECOMMEND Compassion 4 Paws and Dr. Sara. She made the transition smooth and painless, having her there is like having a good friend by your side as you go through this difficult passage. Dr. Sara has an amazingly empathetic spirit and she brings a very serene energy to the room. We met for the first time today, my husband made the call and spoke with her previously. She came in and we talked a little bit about Guy, she stroked him and got to know him. They sat for a bit and she asked us if we were ready. She then gave him a sedative which put him in a deep sleep. We got to hold him and hug on him for as long as we needed to. We said our goodbyes and she proceeded with the final injection. Guy just drifted away.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

I just wanted to give everyone a quick THANKS for coming out to see the show. It was a great opening and I'm honored to be showing with Gala Bent. Good news is the show has been extended to Oct. 12th and we will be having an artist talk Sept. 21st. Hope to see you there!

I'm so excited to show with Gala Bent. This picture doesn't do her work justice, you have to see them in real life to appreciate all of the intricate details. See her WEBSITE for more info.

Me (left), Brangien Davis (center), Gala Bent (right)
It was great seeing so many of my Seattle friends again. I REALLY have to get out to more 1st Thursdays. I love the art community here, thank you guys!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Here they are folks, the complete Northwest Natives Alphabet set! An incredible amount of work went into these carvings. I had a lot of fun learning about our native species, some are old favorites and others are completely new to me. The entire set will be on view at an upcoming show in Seattle. Please stop by if you're in town.

Letters A-M
A is for Aquilegia (Columbine)
B is for Bald Eagle
C is for Cougar
D is for Dogwood
E is for Elk
F is for Fox
G is for Grizzly Bear
H is for Heron
I is for Iris
J is for Juniper
K is for Killer Whale
L is for Lynx
M is for Mountain Goat

Letters N-Z
N is for Northern Spotted Owl
O is for Otter
P is for Painted Turtle
Q is for Quinault Tribe
R is for Rhododendron
S is for Salmon
T is for Timberwolf
U is for Urchin
V is for Viola
W is for Wolf Eel
X is for Xanthogrammica (Giant Green Anemone)
Y is for Yuma myotis (Vesper Bat)
Z is for Zapus princeps (Western Jumping Mouse)

A-Z: Northwest Natives Alphabet
I would like to make a print of this set available for sale... maybe even a postcard collection of the entire set? I will keep you guys updated!

I had so much fun w/ this interview, thank you for coming over Nancy! Check out my quad-chins yo!

These are the letters U-Z of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set. The
full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Since the
show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck
of the woods. Every letter is paired with species
that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). Please stop by to see
the show if
you're in town.

V is for Viola
There are MANY native violas in the NW. They are one of my favorite plants in the garden, truly carefree and well adapted to our region. The flowers are edible, I love candied violets as well.

Viola 360 view
I really enjoyed making these flora-based crayons. My next alphabet set might have to be plant based...

Thursday, August 15, 2013

These are the letters N-T of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set. The
full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Since the
show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck
of the woods. Every letter is paired with species
that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). Please stop by to see
the show if
you're in town.

O is for Otter
Scientific name: Lontra canadensis
Common Name: North American River Otter

Otter 360 View

P is for Painted Turtle
Scientific name: Chrysemys picta

Painted Turtle 360 View
This is probably my favorite crayon from the set. I love how ripples turned out. I carved the turtle on top first, but was unsatisfied with how small it was compared to the whole crayon. I wanted the carved portion to be larger so I added a pond scene with another turtle, lily pads and rippling water.

Q is for The Quinault Tribe

Quinault Woman
360 View

R is for Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus with more than a 1000 species, it's also Washington State's state flower.